Research guide: Gender equity for companies

Regulations, reports, and data to help companies improve on gender issues in their supply chains

As legal sustainability and accountability requirements increase globally, organizations must incorporate a gender perspective into their operations and risk analysis. Governments, shareholders, investors, and stakeholders are holding companies accountable to applying gender-sensitive policies in their employment and supply chain practices. Sustainability reporting frameworks, such as the Global Reporting Initiative and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, already consider gender perspectives as a critical aspect of their evaluation process.

As part of our Gender Workplan, we conducted research on recent guidance, reports, analyses, standards, and legislation related to the gender pay gap, gender equity in the workplace, and gender equity in supply chains to support companies in improving on gender issues.

The Research guide: Gender equity for companies is the culmination of this work. It’s divided into six sections:

• Gender equity: The bigger picture
• The gender pay gap
• Gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH)
• Women in union leadership
• Tools and practical guidance
• Governments with gender equity-related legislation

Each of these sections is meant to provide sustainability professionals and company leadership with the necessary background to integrate a gender lens into their human rights due diligence (HRDD) programs.

This guidance focuses on resources published between 2015-2026, with the aim to serve as a starting point for organizations to explore this important subject.